Rail bond and method of bonding



Patented July 5, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE .PLINY IP. PIPES, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE OHIO BRASS COMPANY, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY RAIL BOND AND METHOD OF BONDING Application filed. August 18, 1926. Serial No. 130,007.

My invention relates to apparatus for and the method of electrically connecting adjacent ends of rails and particularly that type of apparatus known as a rail bond and which is secured to the rails by means of welding.

The object of my invention is to provide connecting apparatus having a terminal secured thereto which will form a receptacle for molten attaching metal, part of the said receptacle being formed by engaging the device with the rail and the other portion of the receptacle being formed in the device itself.

Another object of my invention is to have the end of the conducting member directly welded to the molten attaching metal.

Another object of my invention is to provide apparatus which will grip the rail and be maintained in position until the attaching metal is applied and solidified.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device which Will engage a large area of the rail surface without being unduly large in size.

Another object is to provide an improved method of attaching the bond to the rail.

Other objects will be disclosed as the description of the device proceeds herein, and will also be recognized by those skilled in the art.

My invention resides in the new and novel construction, combination and relation of the various parts hereinafter fully described and shown in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing;

Fig. 1 is a side view in elevation of my device showing the side opposite the rail.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of one of the terminals. Both terminals are substantially alike.

Fig. 3 is an end view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a side view in elevation of the terminal member and a portion of the connecting member.

Fig. 5 is a section of a terminal of my invention taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2 and shows the same as positioned on a rail and secured thereto by attaching metal.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention I employ a body member 1,preferably of stranded copper cable, although the body member may be made up of flat laminations or may be of other metal than copper and may also be of solid wire if desired.

The terminal member 2 is of such a construction that it can be formed up out of sheet metal and can be of copper or metal of a ferrous character, such as iron, steel, etc., and I prefer a terminal made of a ferrous metal as there is a stronger and much more secure union between such a metal 'and'the attaching metal, which is preferably of copper or a copper base metal, and which attaching metal may be fiuXed or not, as desired, although I prefer to flux the attaching metal by the use of any of the well known fluxing materials such as phosphorus, manganese, silicon, etc.

The terminal member 2 has a sleeve portion 3 which entirely or partially surrounds the body 1 and grips the same to securely attach the two together. Interposed between the members 1 and 3 is a yielding sleeve 4, preferably of copper, which protects the body 1 from the exposed sharp edge of the member 8. The walls of the collar 3 extend longitudinally and form a retaining wall 5 and which surrounds the end of the body 1, in spaced relation thereto, on substantially three sides and forming a portion of a receptacle to receive the molten attaching metal 6.

Extending laterally from the edges of the wall 5 are spaced projections 7 which overhang the bond body and collar and which are arranged to engage the upper face of a rail and preferably the upper face of the rail base. The spaced projections 7 form with the upper face of the rail a receptacle and which receptacle joins that formed by the wall 5 so that the two receptacles are merged into one when the device is applied to a rail.

Also extending from the terminal member is a projection 8 which is spaced from the projections 7 and is shown as alternately disposed relatively thereto, and which is adapted to engage the opposite face of the rail from that engaged by the projections 7, and it will be seen that when the terminal is applied to the base of a rail, as in Fig. 5, that the projections 7 and 8 will engage the rail to hold the device in place until the attaching metal 6 has been applied and solidified.

It will be noted that the projection 8 is first formed as an extension to one edge of the collar 3 and in the final forming is bent at right angles thereto. However, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that a projection 8 could be formed from each edge and in spaced relation to each other so as to form two retaining projections 8 in place of one. As the terminal member 2 can be made of a casting, it will be evident that as many projections 8 can be formed thereon and positioned as desired.

It will also be noted that the lower edge 9 of the projection 7 is above the upper edge 10 of the collar 3, and by referring to Fig. 5 it will be seen that this permits the upper edge 10 of the collar 3 to be positioned below the upper face of the rail surface thereby exposing the edge or side face of the rail for the application thereto of the attaching metal 6 and this increases quite materially the area of contact of the device to the rail thereby increasing the efficiency of contact without increasing the size of the terminal.

In the application of the device to the rail B, it is applied to the flange or base, as shown in Fig. 5, and is tapped into position by a hammer or other suitable tool with the lower edge 9 of the projections 7 fitted to the upper surface of the rail base.

The receptacles previously described are now filled with molten attaching metal which is preferably fused to the inner faces of the walls 5 and 7, to the end of the body member 1, to the upper edge 10 of the collar 3 and to the surface of the rail within the confines of the walls 5 and 7.

The parts may be brought up to the necessary temperature for the attaching metal to be secured thereto by the electric arc, the oxyacetylene flame or other gaseous flame or means of heating. The attaching metal may be fused and applied either by the use of a carbon are which simultaneously heats the parts and fuses a separate rod of the attaching metal or by a metallic electrode in which the electrode is the attaching metal and the are formed between the electrode and the parts simultaneously heats the parts and fuses the attaching metal.

Both forms of welding, that is, the use of the carbon electrode or the metallic electrode are well known to those skilled in the art and the parts of the device and rail may be brought to a point of fusion whereby the fused portion of the parts and the attaching metal mingle or alloy together. it is not necessary, however, to have the parts of the device and the rail brought to a fused or molten condition when applying the attaching metal in order to securely attach the bond to the rail, but if the parts are brought close to the melting point of the attaching metal,

it will be suflicient, as disclosed in Patent 1,209,742, issued December 26, 1916 to George A. Mead. The fusing point of a steel or iron terminal is higher than that of copper and, therefore, if the attaching metal is a copper or a copper base metal it can be fused without fusing the terminal or rail by proper manipulation of the arc or heating flame, and the fused attaching metal will still unite with the sufiiciently heated parts of the terminal and rail, and such union might be termed a brazed union in which a higher melting point attaching metal is used than ordinarily, as in the case of brazing with spelter formed of copper with a high percentage of zinc.

Modifications of the disclosure herein made will no doubt appear to those skilled in the art, but I do not wish to be limited other than by my claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for electrically connecting rails comprising a flexible metallic body member, a terminal member secured thereto adj acent its end, the terminal comprising a portion to grip the body adjacent its end, a longitudinally projecting retaining wall forming a receptacle about the end of the body, parts projecting laterally from the retaining wall to overhang the rail surface and form therewith a receptacle, both receptacles arranged to catch and retain molten metal used to secure the device to the rail and means alternately positioned and spaced with respect to the laterally projecting parts to engage the face of the rail opposite to that engaged by the laterally projecting parts.

2. Apparatus for electrically connecting rails comprising a body member and a termin al member secured together, the terminal member consisting of a portion gripping the body member, an upstanding wall bent about the axis of the bond body and surrounding the exposed end of the bond body on substantially three sides and spaced therefrom, projections from the ends of the wall to overhang a rail and form therewith a receptacle to catch, support and retain welding metal in the molten condition, a metallic sleeve interposed between the body and terminal member, and means projecting from the terminal to engage the opposite face of the rail from that engaged by the said projections for supporting said bond body transversely of said rail.

3. A rail bond to be welded to two surfaces of a rail comprising a body member and a terminal member secured to each end thereof, the terminal member consistin of a portion to grip the end of the body, a receptacle formed by the longitudinal extension of the said portion and a side face of the rail and open on top and partially surrounding the end of the body, projecting means to overhang another rail surface and form a receptacle therewith, means to engage the opposite face of the rail from that engaged by the projecting means.

4. A rail bond to be applied to the side face of a rail base comprising a body member and a terminal member secured together, spaced means projecting from the terminal and overlapping the side face and adjacent upper face of the rail and forming with said faces a receptacle to catch, support and retain attaching metal while in the fused condition and other means projecting from the terminal to cooperate with the first said projecting means to secure the bond in place on the rail temporarily.

5. A bond terminal arranged to hold a conductor in position displaced laterally from the side face of a rail base by welding, comprising means of attachment to the conductor, means forming a receptacle for molten metal in contact with the conductor and said side face of the rail base and projecting means to engage the rail base and hold the terminal in place thereon while welding.

6. A rail bond comprising a flexible body, a terminal member secured to the body, means on the terminal to grip the body, means projecting from the body member to form with a surface of a rail a receptacle with the body exposed therein, other propecting means to engage another surface of the rail and form a receptacle therewith and other projecting means to grip the rail and hold the bond in place thereon with the body member adjacent the rail surface and a portion of the body arranged to be bent underneath the rail.

7. A bond terminal arranged to hold a conductor in position adjacent the edge of the base flange of a rail, comprising means for attaching the conductor to the bond terminal, means forming a receptacle for molten metal in contact with the conductor, and a plurality of projections arranged to grip the rail flange and to hold the portion of the conductor gripped by the terminal in position displaced horizontally away from the rail beyond the lateral edge of the base flange, two of said projections forming with the rail a rceptacle for molten attaching metal.

8. A rail bond comprising a body and terminals secured together, the terminals having means thereon arranged to grip opposite faces of a rail base a portion of said terminal forming with the edge surface of the base an open top receptacle with the end face of the body exposed therein, the receptacle being arrangd to receive molten attaching metal in fused relation to the body, the edge surface of the base and the terminal.

9. A bond comprising a body and terminals secured together, the body comprising a plurality of stranded cables laid side by side to forma wide, flat conductor, the terminals having cable engaging portions arranged to hold the cable ends in fixed relation and having projections for gripping opposite surfaces of a rail base, a portion of each terminal forming with the adjacent edge surface of the base an open top receptacle with the end faces of the cables exposed within the receptacle, the receptacle being arranged to retain molten attaching metal in fused relation with the body, the edge of the rail base and the end faces of the cable.

10. A bond terminal arranged to hold a conductor in position on the side face of a rail base comprising means for attachment to the conductor, means forming a receptacle for molten metal in contact with the conductor, and a plurality of projections extending, some above and some below the rail base to grip the base and hold the conductor displaced laterally from said rail beyond the outer edge of the rail base, said terminal forming a receptacle with the side face of the rail base, for molten attaching metal.

11. A rail bond to be welded to a rail comprising a body member and a terminal member secured together, the terminal member comprising means to grip the end of the body member and space the body member from the rail surface, spaced means projecting from the terminal member and arranged to extend along an edge end face of the rail surface and form with said edge end face a receptacle, projecting means adapted to engage the opposite surface of the rail to hold the bond in position, and a sleeve of diflerent material from that of the terminal member interposed between the first said means and the body member.

12. An attachable welding terminal for a rail bond, comprising a terminal body adapted to receive the end portion of a conductor, said body having an upper and a lower ear thereon for engaging upper and lower faces respectively of the base flange of a horizontally extending rail, said terminal having a vertical socket for a conductor, and a conductor secured to said terminal body in said socket and extending downwardly therefrom.

13 An attachable welding terminal for a rail bond comprising a terminal body, adapted to receive the end portion of a conductor, said body having horizontally spaced upper ears thereon arranged to engage the upper surface of the base flange of a rail and form with the rail a receptacle for molten metal, a lower ear on said body arranged to engage the lower face of the base flange and cooperate with said upper ears to grip said flange, said terminal having a vertical socket for a conductor, and a conductor secured to said terminal body in said socket and extending downwardly therefrom.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

PLINY P. PIPES. 

